Cab 410 leather stool

TIMELESS SOPHISTICATION

Designed by Mario Bellini, Cab Stool is the world’s first example of a free-standing cowhide design stool informed by the relationship between the skeleton and the skin; an authentic example of production excellence, a tailored-to-fit iconic object.

“This was a new kind of chair, constructed totally out of leather, much cloned since then.” Thus Mario Bellini describes Cab, a best-seller that he designed in the 1970s, which is now a signature piece in Cassina’s I Contemporanei collection. Cab was the first-ever chair to feature a free-standing leather structure, inspired by how our skin fits over our skeleton. The upholstery consists of sixteen pieces of saddle leather. Individually die-cut, they then undergo fourteen discrete procedures, again by hand. The pieces are sewn together only when their outer edges have been trimmed to ensure a perfect fit. Once assembled, the cover is attached to the chair’s steel skeleton and held in place by means of a zipper fastening, as in a bespoke tailored garment. The wide array of colours for the saddle leather cushion is now complemented by pigmented saddle leather in black, brown and Russian red.

Only after a lengthy thinning process, the cut parts are stitched together, while the upholstery is hand-fitted to the steel skeleton and closed with a zipper, like a real custom-tailored garment.